Page 4 of The Omega's Third Wish
Chapter Two
Theo
I expected Mindy to regret making wishes instead of getting a toy, but instead I found thatIwas the one who started to regret it. All the way home she talked about how excited she was about the wishes. She justknewthey’d come true. It broke my heart. Yet, I thought of my own wishes and found myself hoping they’d come true.
It took four different busses to get from the festival to our crummy apartment and it was late by the time we returned. I heated up some mac and cheese for Mindy and soon she was tucked into bed. Her “room” was the top half of a bunk bed with a carboard wall across three sides that separated it from the rest of our one-room apartment. Once she was in bed I turned off all of the lights except for the one over the stove. I pulled my chair up to our tiny kitchen table and opened up my laptop; I liked to work as far from her as possible so my typing wouldn’t disturb her.
My ancient laptop took a full five minutes to boot up – long enough for me to clean up our dishes – followed by another five just to load my emails. Of course, the slow internet was less my laptop and more the fact I was using the wi-fi from the café across the street. When I scraped enough coins together I’d go over and buy coffee so I didn’t feel guilty.
I had four emails from jobs I had recently applied for and read over them, heart sinking farther with each one.
Thank you for your interest, I’m afraid the position has already been filled.
On to the next.
We waited for your reply, but since we did not hear back, we have moved on with our hiring choice.
I cursed but wasn’t surprised; it happened all the time.
I’m sorry I didn’t get back to you. It looks like the CEO has decided to hold off on hiring for the time being while we reorganize. I’ll reach out when hiring resumes.
I snorted in annoyance. They never reached back out. Ever.
You’re hired! Does Monday at 10am work for you? I’ll have about an hour to talk things over. My address is below.
Hired! I bit back a cheer and instead silently waved my arms. Gods, at last! I quickly sent back a thank you and then typed up a formal email to my landlord to let her know I would be leaving. To my surprise, I wasjustwithin the fourteen-day notice window that she required. I almost never managed to get out of a lease without some sort of penalty. Maybe my luck was turning… no. I wouldn’t even think it.
As quietly as I could I rushed around packing up our meager belongings. Before I went to bed I figured out just how much it would cost to get transportation to Vale Valley…
~~~***~~~
Vale Valley was a lovely little town. We ended up walking the last few blocks, down a beautiful neighborhood street, dotted with quaint houses all decked out for the fall. There were jack-o-lanterns and mums on every porch, dancing skeletons in yards, and autumn wreaths on colorful doors.
Mindy skipped cheerfully along, counting pumpkins and gourds, while I dragged the suitcases that held everything we owned.
At last, we reached the address, with five minutes to spare. I took a deep breath and went up and knocked on the door. A moment later it opened and I was greeted by a handsome, somewhat frazzled looking man. I could tell at a sniff he was a fox shifter too, what a coincidence!
“Yes?” he asked.
“Hi, I’m Theo Lockwood,” I said, extending a hand.
“Oh, right on time!” he said, sounding relieved. “I’m Pete Zephlyn.” He looked behind me and smiled. “Who’s this?”
“This is my daughter, Mindy.”
“Hi,” she said shyly as he waved to her.
“How old are you?” he asked.
“Seven.”
Mr. Zephlyn beamed. “My Rosie is seven too! Why don’t you go on through there,” he pointed. “She’s in the back room, playing.”
I nodded when Mindy looked at me for permission and she eagerly rushed into the house and down the hall.
“Is there somewhere I can put these, Mr. Zephlyn?” I asked as I lugged the bags inside.
“Wow, you don’t pack light, do you? Did you come straight here or check into a hotel first?”
I froze, confused. “Um… the ad said there were living accommodations…”
Mr. Zephlyn looked equally confused. “Yes… if you’re hired,” he said slowly, bright brown eyes flicking toward my bags.
I chuckled nervously, but he looked serious. “Um… you… you said I was…” I tried to fight the slowly rising panic.
“I’m sorry… this is just your interview.”
“You said I was hired!” I cried.
He winced. “No, I’m sorry. I asked if you could come today for your interview. For an hour.”
